New Track Superintendent at Fair Grounds

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots announced that Pedro Zavala has been named track superintendent at the New Orleans track.

According to the press release, 26-year-old Zavala served as assistant track superintendent at Fair Grounds for the past five years following three years on the track crew at Arlington Park.

"Pedro has proven to be a knowledgeable, passionate and committed member of our team," Fair Grounds vice president and general manager Eric Halstrom said in a release. "His expertise has already been demonstrated this year in the way he has managed the dirt and turf courses since the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival."

Zavala, a native of Guanajuato, Mexico, has worked under three previous Fair Grounds track superintendents.

"At Fair Grounds you have some of the best horses in the world racing and training over your surfaces so it’s a real honor but also a huge responsibility," Zavala said in a statement. "Our dirt track has a long reputation as a safe one that keeps horses sound and gets them unusually fit. That’s a reputation I intend to preserve."